Today’s passage: 1 Kings 7:1-12
Helpful thoughts:
- The times at the end of chapter six and the beginning of chapter 7 make for quite a contrast. These buildings in Solomon’s palace “complex” took longer and are often larger than the Temple.
- The fact that Pharaoh’s daughter received this special treatment either means she was regarded as the political queen or that Solomon understood the need to please his wife’s father.
- Even after Solomon built all these impressive buildings, he was not satisfied (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).
Questions to consider:
- What might have been the feeling or perspective of the people as this palace complex was being built? How does it sound like it compared to the Temple? How do we often regard people’s efforts and investment in these kinds of endeavors? On the other hand, why should we be careful to not let our opinions and assumptions become the standard?
- While Jerusalem was certainly becoming an impressive city, why wasn’t Solomon satisfied in it? How would Solomon’s understanding of the vanities of this life only increased the more he built and owned?
- How did Solomon respond to this truth? What was his conclusion? (Ecclesiastes 12:13) What did the Apostle Paul learn about true contentment (Philippians 4:11-13)?